VENEER

Kanaya was infamous for being impeccable.

She was painstakingly fashion-conscious, always updating her makeup to suit her mood and making sure that her clothes were as a matter of course more sleek, more flattering, and all-around just more than everyone else's.

It gave her confidence.

She painted herself into a pretty picture, something untouchable in its perfection.

You cannot harm me.

She held her head high and smiled wickedly, because really, she didn't have to be a highblood to be high-class.

It was really too bad she'd never managed to convince herself of her own lies.

The truth was, Kanaya felt incredibly alone.

She cared a great deal about her friends, and she tried to show it in the ways she knew how. She was just awkward.

So she nagged, not unkindly, and offered fashion advice when they wanted to make impressions but didn't know how.

None of them had realized that she only knew how to control how to look in order to make others perceive them in certain ways because she'd been doing it all along.

All her life, she'd tried her hardest to present herself carefully to those she cared about; she didn't want to lose them because of her own shortcomings.

So it had been a relief and maybe a tiny bit of a disappointment when they simply accepted her at face value and didn't really delve any deeper.

They never saw her flaws, and for that she was glad...but also ashamed.

Maybe you're not my friends at all. Maybe it's just easier for you to love a lie.

So when Rose had crashed straight through every defense she'd ever constructed with all the grace and tact of a load of bricks, she was utterly shocked.

And horrified.

And incredibly glad.

Because for Rose, she didn't have to pretend.

She surrendered every flaw, let her defenses down, was conscientious and meek and oh so vulnerable, and it did nothing but make Rose smile like she'd just handed her the world.

Rose loved her for being perfectly imperfect.

And that meant everything.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own! Just a little something, I guess. As always, comments and critiques are more than welcome, and be sure to have a good day.